“A Homage to a Painter of Small Things”: Six Questions for Bruce Bond
Bruce Bond, born on June 25, 1954 in Pasadena, California, is the author of 37 novels and many poems. Bond pursued his creative writing career at three colleges, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at Pomona college, a Masters of Arts degree in English at Claremont Graduate school, and a PhD in English at the University of Denver. His love for music throughout his childhood also inspired him to pursue it at the university, receiving a Masters in Music Performance degree from the Lamont School of Music of the University of Denver.
Bond spent many years as a classical and jazz guitarist after this, still currently performing in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area. Following his education, Bond became a Creative Writing and English professor at multiple colleges: University of Kansas, Wichita State University, Wilfrid Laurier University and currently, University of Northern Texas. Bond’s love for English and music inspired him to write many poems and books that encapsulates the elements of rhythm, jazz, pitch, etc.
The most famous of Bond’s publications include Vault (2022), awarded the Richard Snyder Prize; Black Anthem (2017), awarded the Tampa Review Prize for Poetry; and Rise and Fall of the Lesser Sun Gods (2017), recipient of the Elixir Press Poetry Award. The several poems featured in Best American Poetry include “Art Tatum,” 2003 volume, “The Unfinished Slave,” 2013 volume, “Homage to a Painter of Small Things,” 2017 volume, and “Anthem,” 2018 volume. Bond has also written critical works including Plurality and the Poetics of Self and Palgrave, 2019.
What drew me towards Bruce Bond was his poem “A Homage to a Painter of Small Things”, Best American Poetry 2017. This poem fascinated me with its elements of rhythm, symbolism, description and appreciation for the small elements of life. Each detail seemed to come to life through his descriptions in ways I had previously not recognized. The poem had differences from every other poem I had researched that created a unique distinction capturing my attention. His past as a classical jazz musician seemed to be intertwined into his language and techniques and ways I wanted to further analyze. As I continued to read the poem, it drew me to more questions about his life, poetic choices, and more which inspired me to conduct an interview with him.
As a classical jazz artist, did jazz play any role in shaping the rhyme of your poems? Specifically, did it influence the structure of the 5 line stanzas in “A Homage to a Painter of Small Things”?
My musical training has made me more acutely aware of all the sonic elements in poems—most obviously rhythmic structure and various forms of echo (such as rhyme), but also the less theorized elements of tempo, phrasing, and pitch. So the influence of my experience in music has effected my sensibility overall, my sensitivity to sound and its influence on the emotional impact of a poem. More than the 5 line stanza, the regular meter here (pentameter—5 feel per line) embodies a general interest in exploring the interplay between repetition and variety—the two principles that make musical form possible. I like when poems can sound both spontaneously uttered and artfully shaped.
In “Homage,” did you intend for the audience to be solely artists, or did you want the poem to connect with themes in everyday life? If so, how would these be applied?
I want my poems to be approachable without much if any specialized knowledge, but often some specialized knowledge can add to the experience. I think this poem in particular does not required much in the way of a painter’s expertise, with the possible exception of recognizing the challenges of painting small in a realistic fashion, plus the particular approach here that aspires to “hide” the brushstroke, to blend it in.
You referenced the word “begin” in the context of an art piece multiple times during this poem; do you believe the beginning of any pursuit in life is the most crucial step in the process, why or why not?
Beginning is indeed crucial to any process and indeed all beginnings in our experience are informed by the past. I think the need to begin again here articulates two things. I desire to go back and participate in something from our own beginnings, our childhood, to recapture some of what childhood represents to us. Also, the need to begin again suggests we are taking another run at some challenge, as if a fresh approach might help us accomplish a task that feels forever out of reach.
What encouraged you to address this poem to Matthew Cornell specifically? Why do you believe it was beneficial to include his perspective of having no true home during his childhood in his artwork?
I wanted to investigate why an artist would choose this particular subject and approach to painting, so the personal element expresses a longing on the part of the speaker to engage the painter in some kind of exploratory exchange. The poem has a warmer feeling to it in light of the more personal frame.
You used the term “sinks beneath” when describing a brushstroke upon a larger painting, do you believe these details are meant to be stronger together or more important individually?
Yes, the details of the painting rely upon each other to create an illusion of presence and transparency. The sinking of the brushstroke also points to the artist’s desire to conceal a level of artifice such that the illusion of transparency is stronger.
I noticed you focused on the recurring symbol of a home, what about this symbol did you want the reader to understand after reflecting on this poem?
This particular painting is drawn to the subject of family homes viewed from the outside, as if a domestic world is both celebrated and held at a distance. In discussing his art, Matthew Cornell talks about his attraction to his subject, because he moved a lot as a child. So he had less of a sense of a stable place of residence. There is a part of him that is always looking for what he never had.